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Day in Rock Report for 12/19/2015



The Kinks' Ray And Dave Davies Reunite On Stage

(Radio.com) Father Christmas came a little bit early this year for fans of The Kinks, and what he brought wasn't "some money," as the lyrics to the band's classic yuletide jam goes. Instead, he delivered the band's principal members, singer/songwriter/leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies together on stage, for the first time in nearly two decades.

At Dave's concert at the Islington Assembly Hall in London earlier tonight (December 18), Ray shocked the audience by appearing on stage with his younger brother for a take through the Kinks' earth-shaking, game-changng classic, "You Really Got Me."

The brothers and bandmates have had a famously rough relationship, and haven't performed together since the Kinks played their last show at Norwegian Wood in Oslo, Norway, in June of 1996. Both brothers have, on occasion, expressed interest in a reunion. So tonight's performance will surely lead fans to believe that the Kinks will, at long last, get back together in 2016. Read more here.

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Scott Weiland's Cause of Death Confirmed

(hennemusic) Scott Weiland's death has been ruled an accidental overdose. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner in Minneapolis, MN has determined that Weiland died of an accidental overdose of cocaine, ethanol and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), reports Rolling Stone.

The office also noted that the former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver voicalist's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, history of asthma and multi-substance dependence.

The singer was found dead on his tour bus in Bloomington, MN on December 3 while on the road with his group The Wildabouts, and an assortment of drugs were discovered at the scene by authorities. Read more here.

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Violent Femmes Announce First Album In Over 15 Years

(BH) Violent Femmes have announced their first new album in more than 15 years. The new album, entitled We Can Do Anything, is set to be released on March 4th and the band also plans to launch a full-scale North American headline tour in support of the effort. We were sent the following details:

We Can Do Anything was produced by Jeff Hamilton - a longtime member of the Horns of Dilemma (Violent Femmes'multi-instrumentalist backing musicians) and was mixed by the John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile, Dinosaur, Jr.).

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie, and drummer Brian Viglione recorded We Can Do Anything in studios in Brooklyn, Nashville, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Denver, while on tour during the summer of 2015.

The album's cover image was drawn by Barenaked Ladies' Kevin Hearn, who also contributed accordion, guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals on several recordings. Rounding out the live touring band and members of The Horns of Dilemma are John Sparrow and Blaise Garza who has been playing with the band since he was 14 years old. See the tracklisting here.

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Eagles Of Death Metal Thank Play It Forward Contributors

(Radio.com) Following the Paris attacks on Le Bataclan, Duran Duran were the first band to reach out to Eagles of Death Metal in a show of musical solidarity. Simon LeBon tweeted that Duran Duran would donate their share of royalties from EODM's cover of "Save a Prayer."

Following that move, EODM asked other artists to "play it forward" by covering their song "I Love You All The Time" from Zipper Down. For every cover that the band sold, they pledged 100% to Joshua Homme's organization, The Sweet Stuff Foundation, which aims to help musicians in need as well as provide musical education and gear for next generation musicians.

Thus far, the response has been overwhelming, and EODM thanked all participants, including Florence + the Machine (featuring The Maccabees), Kings of Leon, Ed Harcourt, Imagine Dragons, Savages, Jimmy Eat World, Alain Johannes, Mini Mansions, The New Pacifics, rooms, Sinner Sinners and Dean Ween Group.

Homme said of the response, "We are proud to be a little part of such a big group of talent and good will. We can't thank these artists enough for their donations of talent, love, time, and compassion." Read more including details about a special Pearl Jam related release here.

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Dexter Star Michael C. Hall Becomes David Bowie On The Late Show

(Radio.com) David Bowie appeared Thursday night to perform his song "Lazarus" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Well, not Bowie per se, but the newest version of Bowie as embodied by actor Michael C. Hall.

In a video made available before the performance, Hall as Bowie revealed he underwent some "ch-ch-changes" thanks to plastic surgery, which turned the 68-year-old into Hall.

Wearing all black, Hall channeled Bowie for the song, which was shortened from its original six-minutes to a more broadcast friendly four-minutes. Joined by the cast of Lazarus, which has been touted as a companion to the sci-fi novel The Man Who Fell To Earth, Hall sounded remarkably like Bowie. The sold out production is being staged at New York Theatre Workshop and will run until Jan. 20. Watch it here.

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AC/DC Concert To Be Inaugural Event At Remodeled Olympic Stadium

(Gibson) Earlier this week AC/DC announced new North American and European legs of their Rock Or Bust world tour. Part of the European leg will include the first event planned for the remodeled Olympic Stadium in London.

For the past two years, the venue has been undergoing renovations to convert the facility into a year-round multi-purpose venue. AC/DC's June 4, 2016 stop on the tour will be the inaugural event for the redesigned stadium-which was the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

"Having the legends of rock, AC/DC, perform the first major concert in this world-class venue will be a spectacular way for the stadium to start its new life," said stadium chief executive Linda Lennon, in a prepared statement.

"This summer has already demonstrated what a great venue the stadium will be and next summer it will only go from strength to strength." Read more here.

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RX Bandits' Matt Embree Releases Ellie Goulding Cover

RX Bandits' Matt Embree has recorded his reggae/soul take of pop star Ellie Goulding's "Guns and Horses" as part of the Rarebreed Flexi Subscription.

Embree had the following explanation about how he choose the track, "I decided to cover Ellie Goulding because she is one of my favorite pop musicians and having always existed in the indie scene I thought it would be a welcome change from my usual tendancy with covers, which is to do some random and mired in obscurity."

He also discussed the recording process "It was a really fun and relaxed recording experience, really just had one rehearsal and then laid everything down by tracking everything but vocals and horns live at once.

"I mixed and mastered the records at home which allowed me to take my time and fine tune the sounds. It was fun trying to emulate the sonic quality of 80s dub stuff while at the same time making the mixes punchy and clean." Stream the track here.

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Chicago Hopeful For Reunion With Peter Cetera At Rock Hall Induction

(Classic Rock) Chicago co-founder Robert Lamm says he's hopeful that former singer and bassist Peter Cetera will join the band for their induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next year.

They were chosen for inclusion along with Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, Steve Miller and N.W.A earlier this week. And asked whether they'd consider performing with Cetera - who left the band in 1985 - at the ceremony at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on April 8, Lamm was positive in his response.

He tells Rolling Stone: "Absolutely. I talk to Peter from time to time. I know he hasn't played bass in many, many years - as fine a bass player as he was. He'd certainly sing, at least I imagine.

"There were opportunities and discussions over the years about doing some things together, but it never happened." Read more here.

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All Star George Harrison Tribute Concert Set For Release

(Gibson) Weezer's Brian Bell, The Killers' Brandon Flowers and Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell are among the big names to appear on a new home video and album taken from a 2014 tribute concert to late Beatles star George Harrison. The set, George Fest: A Night to Celebrate the Music of George Harrison, will drop on Feb. 26, just one day after what would have marked Harrison's 73rd birthday.

The George Fest event also features the Strokes' Nick Valensi, the Flaming Lips, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cold War Kids, Spoon's Britt Daniel, Conan O'Brien and "Weird Al" Yankovic. George Fest - filmed on Sept. 28, 2014, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles - will be offered as a two-CD/DVD set, two-CD/Blu-ray package, three-LP vinyl collection and digital download.

The George Fest set list includes Beatles songs penned by Harrison, plus his solo works. The different George Fest offerings are available for pre-order via GeorgeHarrison.com. See the tracklisting and artists list here.

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Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty Film Coming To DVD

(Gibson) When Johnny Winter passed away in 2014, the world of guitar lost one of its greats. Although born with Albinism and near blind, Winter was a tour de force.

The music legend's extraordinary life will be celebrated in the new biopic "Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty" which is scheduled to be released on DVD in March of 2016.

Winter's own recordings are enough to tell his tale, but he collaborated with many, many others. For example? Vince Gill, Sonny Landreth, Susan Tedeschi, Edgar Winter, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Leslie West, Brian Setzer, Dr. John, Paul Nelson, Ben Harper, Joe Perry and more. Winter even produced Muddy Waters albums. Many contribute to Down & Dirty. Watch the trailer for the film here.

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Mastodon's Asleep In The Deep Named No. 1 Metal Video Of 2015

Mastodon's clip for the track "Asleep In The Deep" has topped Loadwire's 10 Best Metal Video Of The Year 2015 as part of the hard rock site's look back at this past year.

Here is what the site had to say about the video and why it came in at No. 1, "Mastodon are truly in a league of their own, not only creating music that beckons labeling them as their own genre, but crafting brilliant music videos like 'Asleep in the Deep.'

The video was released this year, but the song comes off the band's 2014 record, Once More 'Round the Sun. In this video, a cat leaves home and stumbles upon a weird, blacklit world full of cute little demon creatures.

After drinking from a saucer, the furry feline undergoes a psychedelic transformation and has all sorts of hallucinations. The pacing of the video complements the trance-like song, resulting in the Best Metal Video of 2015." Watch the video and see the rest of the top 10 list here.

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Scorpions Release Online Video Of Classic 1978 TV Performance

(hennemusic) The Scorpions have released online video footage of "He's A Woman, She's A Man" from a 1978 performance on the German television program Rockpop.

The tune originally appeared on the group's 1977 album "Taken By Force" - one of 8 projects released last month as part of a 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition series.

Beyond "Taken By Force", the band also reissued expanded versions of 1978's "Tokyo Tapes", 1979's "Lovedrive", 1980's "Animal Magnetism", 1982's "Blackout", 1984's "Love At First Sting", 1985's "World Wide Live" and 1988's "Savage Amusement."

The Scorpions placed six of the eight expanded reissues on the German album charts, making them just the fifth music act to do so; previous artists to have achieved the milestone include The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and James Last.

Scorpions will continue 50th anniversary tour in the New Year with shows beginning February 17 in Odessa, Ukraine. Watch the video of the classic TV performance here.

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Bruce Springsteen Explains Why The River Needed To Be 2 LPs

(Radio.com) Bruce Springsteen stopped by The Tonight Show last night promoting his newly re-issued box set The Ties That Behind: The River Collection, as well as his upcoming tour.

Springsteen told Jimmy Fallon that initially, The River just didn't feel right. "We handed in a single record first, and I panicked after we handed it in, and I took it back," Springsteen said to Fallon. "It didn't feel like quite enough. So I took it back and spent another year, in tears, making the double album. I shed man-tears."

The double record was important, according to Springsteen. "We were trying to get a record that felt like our live show, that's why it ended up being a double record," The Boss said. "We had a lot of bar band music on and a lot of character studies that I would write also. It got close to capturing some of the energy of a live show, so it was fun."

Springsteen explained that it was also important that The River be a success. "I had signed a lot of bad deals before when I was younger, and when we put this record out, I didn't have a lot of money in the bank," he said to Fallon. "So it was critical this time." Read more here.

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Sonicspoon Release 'In This Pale Blue Dot' Video

Sonicspoon have released a music video for the song "In This Pale Blue Dot", which is a track from their self-titled debut EP. The new video was shot in Guadalajara, directed by Jos� Mar�a Lux�n (Digital Muffing), and produced by the band.

Sonicspoon's Sam G�mez had the following to say, "In This Pale Blue Dot" was the last of four songs for our first EP. Although we were working with another track before, it came together organically and, just a few days before we went to the studio, it was finished. I wrote the lyrics the night before going to Pull & Push Studios to record the vocals, but they were about something completely different.

"That night, while I was watching some science videos, I was really impressed with how Carl Sagan described our planet in Cosmos Later, I saw another one from Neil Degrasse Tyson talking about how he feels in connection with the universe that we can see, and how knowledge is one of the most astounding things we can share. -)" Watch the video here.

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